REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A Literature Review …
 is a comprehensive summary of previous research on a topic. The literature review surveys
scholarly articles, books, and other sources relevant to a particular area of research. The review
should enumerate, describe, summarize, objectively evaluate and clarify this previous research. It should
give a theoretical base for the research and help you (the author) determine the nature of your
research. The literature review acknowledges the work of previous researchers, and in so doing, assures
the reader that your work has been well conceived. It is assumed that by mentioning a previous work in
the field of study, that the author has read, evaluated, and assimilated that work into the work at hand.
 is designed to identify and critique the existing literature on a topic to justify your research by exposing
gaps in current research. This investigation should provide a description, summary, and critical
evaluation of works related to the research problem and should also add to the overall knowledge of the
topic as well as demonstrating how your research will fit within a larger field of study. A literature review
should offer critical analysis of the current research on a topic and that analysis should direct your
research objective. This should not be confused with a book review or an annotated bibliography both
research tools but very different in purpose and scope. A Literature Review can be a stand-alone element
or part of a larger end product, know your assignment. Key to a good Literature Review is to document
your process.
 creates a "landscape" for the reader, giving her or him a full understanding of the developments in the
field. This landscape informs the reader that the author has indeed assimilated all (or the vast majority of)
previous, significant works in the field into her or his research.
 "In writing the literature review, the purpose is to convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have
been established on a topic, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. The literature review must be
defined by a guiding concept (eg. your research objective, the problem or issue you are discussing, or your
argumentative thesis). It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries.
(http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review)
There are many different ways to organize your references in a literature review, but most reviews contain
certain basic elements.

 Objective of the literature review - Clearly describe the purpose of the paper and state your objectives in
completing the literature review.
 Overview of the subject, issue or theory under consideration – Give an overview of your research topic and
what prompted it.
 Categorization of sources – Grouping your research either historic, chronologically or thematically
 Organization of Subtopics – Subtopics should be grouped and presented in a logical order starting with the
most prominent or significant and moving to the least significant
 Discussion – Provide analysis of both the uniqueness of each source and its similarities with other sources
 Conclusion - Summary of your analysis and evaluation of the reviewed works and how it is related to its
parent discipline, scientific endeavor or profession

Elements in a Literature Review

 Locate major formative works in the field

 Ascertain key researchers working on this topic
 Fine fain ideas conclusions and theories. Establish similarities & differences
 Notice main methodologies & research techniques
 Identify gaps in existing research
 Show relationships between previous studies / theories
 Provide context for your own research
 Explore existing information in the fields of research
The purpose of a literature review is to:

 Provide foundation of knowledge on topic

 Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication and give credit to other researchers
 Identify inconstancies: gaps in research, conflicts in previous studies, open questions left from other
research
 Identify need for additional research (justifying your research)
 Identify the relationship of works in context of its contribution to the topic and to other works
 Place your own research within the context of existing literature making a case for why further study is
needed.
10 Simple Rules for Writing Literature Review:

 Define the topic and audience

 Search and re-search the literature
 Take notes while reading
 Choose the type of review you wish to write
 Keep the review focused, but make it of broad interest
 Be critical and consistent
 Find a logical structure
 Make use of feedback
 Include your own relevant research
 Be up-to-date in your review of literature and studies

Types of Literature Review

1. Argumentative Review – This form examines literature selectively in order to support or refute an
argument, deeply imbedded assumption, or philosophical problem already established in the literature.
The purpose is to develop a body of literature that establishes opposite perspective.
2. Integrative Review – This is considered a form of research that reviews, critiques, and synthesizes
representative literature on a topic in an integrated way such that new frameworks and perspectives on
the topic are generated. A well-done integrative review meets the same standards as primary research in
regard to clarity, rigor, and replication. This is the most common form of review in the social sciences.
3. Historical Review – The purpose of historical review is to systematically examine past events to give an
account of what has happened in the past. It is not a mere accumulation of facts and dates or even a
description of past events. Historical review is a flowing, dynamic account of past events which involves an
interpretation of these events in an attempt to recapture the nuances, personalities, and ideas that
influenced these events. The main focus is to communicate an understanding of past events.
4. Methodological Review – A review does not always focus on what someone said, but how they came about
(method of analysis). Reviewing methods of analysis provides a framework of understanding at different
levels (i.e. those of theory, substantive fields, research approaches, and data collection and analysis
techniques), how researchers draw upon a wide variety of knowledge ranging from the conceptual level to
practical documents for use in fieldwork in the areas of ontological and epistemological consideration,
quantitative and qualitative integration, sampling, interviewing, data collection, and data analysis. This
approach helps highlight ethical issues which you should be aware of and consider as you go through your
own study.
5. Systematic Review – The purpose of a systematic review is to attain conclusion regarding the chosen topic.
This form consists of an overview of existing evidence pertinent to a clearly formulated research question,
which uses pre-specified and standardized methods to identify and critically appraise relevant research,
and to collect, report, and analyse data from the studies that are included in the review.
6. Theoretical Review – The purpose of this form is to examine the body of theory that has accumulated in
regard to an issue, concept, theory, phenomena. The theoretical literature review helps to establish what
theories already exist, the relationships about them, to what degree the existing theories have been
investigated and to develop new hypotheses to be tested. Often this form is used to help establish a lack of
appropriate theories or reveal that current theories are inadequate for explaining new or emerging
research problems. The unit of analysis can focus on a theoretical concept or a whole theory or framework.

Functions of Review of Literature and Studies

1. To provide justification of the study

2. To identify gaps, problems and needs of related studies
3. To provide rationale of the study as well as the reasons of conducting the study
4. To have basis that will be used to support findings of the study

Characteristics of the Materials used

1. The materials must be as recent as possible, may be 10 years back.

2. Materials must be objective and unbiased as possible.
3. Materials must be relevant to the study.
4. Coherence principle must be observed in writing literature review.